Campaign 2012

Nevada’s ‘None of the Above’ Option Back on Ballot

Nevada’s unusual "none of the above" ballot option is alive again, thanks to an emergency order granted by a federal appeals court, the Associated Press reported.

A three-judge federal panel in San Francisco allowed the option to remain on the ballot and castigated a federal judge who last month struck down the option while calling it unconstitutional.

Ninth Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote that U.S. District Judge Robert Jones was dragging his feet on the issue. “His dilatory tactics appear to serve no purpose other than to seek to prevent the state from taking an appeal of his decision before it must print the ballots," he wrote in granting a stay.

The "none" language will now be on the November ballot, according to a spokeswoman for Nevada’s attorney general’s office, but appeals will likely continue.

Nevada is the only state in the union with such an option. Republicans sought to get the language removed this year over fears that it could cost them votes in the presidential election.